| White Chicks | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Keenen Ivory Wayans |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Steven Bernstein |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Teddy Castellucci |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing[2] |
Release date |
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Running time | 109 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $37 million[4] |
| Box office | $113.1 million[4] |
White Chicks (stylized asWHiTE CHiCKS) is a 2004 Americanbuddy copaction comedy film directed byKeenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Maqueesh Watkins, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starringMarlon Wayans andShawn Wayans. It also starsJaime King,Frankie Faison,Lochlyn Munro, andJohn Heard. In the film, two black FBI agent brothers go undercover as white women by usingwhiteface to protect two hotel heiresses from a kidnapping plot targeting socialites.
Principal photography forWhite Chicks took place inChilliwack andVictoria in British Columbia, and inThe Hamptons in New York. It was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2004. The film received generally negative reviews upon release,[5] and was nominated for fiveGolden Raspberry Awards, includingWorst Picture. It grossed over $113.1 million worldwide,[4] and has since come to be regarded as acult classic.[5][6][7]
In New York City,FBI agent brothers Marcus Anthony II and Kevin Copeland inadvertently ruin adrug bust. Their boss, Chief Elliott Gordon, offers them a reprieve if they safely escort sisters Brittany and Tiffany Wilson - the rich, shallowsocialite daughters of Wilson Cruiseliners CEO Andrew Wilson, who the police suspect will become the next victims in a string of high-profile kidnappings - to a weekend-long fashion event inthe Hamptons. On the drive, the sisters' dog Baby leaps out of the car window, causing Kevin to lose control of the car. The sisters suffer facial cuts, and, though minor, refuse to be seen with them. Kevin sends them into hiding and has a makeup expert friend createprosthetic disguises so he and Marcus can replace the sisters.
Kevin as Brittany and Marcus as Tiffany meet the sisters' three best friends – Lisa Anderson, Karen Googlestein, and Tori Wilson – and their rivals, Heather and Megan Vandergeld. Unbeknownst to Kevin and Marcus, they are being watched by Gordon, along with colleagues Vincent Gomez and Jake Harper, who are undercover posing as hotel staff. At the hotel, pro basketball player Latrell Spencer is attracted to Marcus/Tiffany, and Kevin sets his sights onNew York One News reporter Denise Porter.
At the Vandergelds' annual charity auction, Latrell wins a dinner date at a restaurant with Marcus/Tiffany. While Latrell takes Marcus/Tiffany to a restaurant, Kevin, believing Denise likes rich men, pretends to be Latrell and takes Latrell's car to drive Denise to Latrell's house. There, he hears about criminal Ted Burton turning the tables on Heather and Megan's father, Warren. With Kevin becoming romantically involved with Denise and Marcus/Tiffany unsuccessfully trying to reject Latrell, their combined antics put them under Gomez and Harper's suspicion.
At a nightclub, after winning adance-off against the Vandergelds, Kevin and Marcus learn from a drunken Karen that Warren is penniless and has been taking loans from her father. The brothers conclude that Warren is the mastermind behind the kidnappings. The next day, the real Brittany and Tiffany arrive at the hotel and discover they are being impersonated. They arrive in the Hamptons intent on exposing their "clones", as does Marcus' wife Gina, believing he is cheating on her. Realizing the Wilsons are being impersonated by men, Gomez and Harper aim to expose them, but accidentally strip down the real Brittany and Tiffany in front of Chief Gordon. After Gomez and Harper are suspended, a furious Gordon fires Kevin and Marcus. Having lost both his job and possibly his wife, Marcus scolds Kevin for always dragging him into trouble.
Later, Kevin and Marcus discover that Warren had embezzled money through his charity. Marcus convinces Kevin to not tell Gordon and to instead redeem themselves with Gomez and Harper's help. Again posing as the Wilsons, they are chosen for the final fashion show. The Vandergelds are furious that the Wilsons have replaced them on the catwalk, but the real Brittany and Tiffany also perform in the event. During the show, the Vandergeld sisters try to sabotage their "rivals", but end up being humiliated by Karen, Lisa, and Tori.
The real Brittany and Tiffany appear and expose Kevin and Marcus, causing mass confusion. Warren begins the kidnapping, but incorrectly captures Marcus/Tiffany and Brittany. This begins a fight between the brothers and Heath and Russ, accomplices in the kidnappings. Warren soon captures the real sisters and explains his financial troubles to his wife and daughters, unaware that his confession is being filmed. In the ensuing scuffle, Kevin is nearly shot trying to protect Denise, Latrell is shot trying to protect Marcus/Tiffany, and Kevin shoots Warren in the shoulder.
Marcus and Kevin capture Warren, while Gomez and Harper apprehend Heath and Russ. Afterward, their true identities are revealed. Latrell is dismayed that Marcus is not white, seemingly not bothered that he is a man. Warren, Heath, and Russ are arrested, while Gordon reinstates the brothers, Gomez, and Harper. Marcus reconciles with Gina, Kevin and Denise begin a relationship, and Latrell wins over the real Brittany and Tiffany. Tori, Lisa, and Karen admit they liked Brittany and Tiffany a lot more when Marcus and Kevin were them, and the five agree to remain friends and go shopping together.
Filming occurred partly inChilliwack, British Columbia, including the exterior scenes at the Hamptons and Victoria, British Columbia.[8] DirectorKeenen Ivory Wayans also co-wrote and co-produced the film with his brothers.
White Chicks was theatrically released in the United States on June 23, 2004.Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released on DVD in the United States on October 26, 2004, and also onUMD on November 29, 2005.[9]
The film grossed $19.7 million in its opening weekend, taking the #2 spot. It finished with $70.8 million at the box office in the United States, and $42.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $113.1 million, against a budget of $37 million.[4] The film was released in theUnited Kingdom on October 15, 2004, and opened at #2, behindShark Tale.[10]
The film received negative reviews from critics upon release.[5] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 15% of 126 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Scattershot comedy that's silly and obvious."[11]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 41 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[13]
In his negative review,Dave Kehr ofNew York Times stated that "Most movies require some suspension of disbelief. ButWhite Chicks... requires something more radical than that. A full frontal lobotomy might be a good place to start."[14] Film criticRichard Roeper put the film at #1 on his list of the worst films of 2004, amongst claims of unconvincing prosthetics and racism.[15][16]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film 1 and1⁄2 stars out of four and said "Here is a film so dreary and conventional that it took an act of the will to keep me in the theater." He subsequently named the film the seventh worst film of 2004.[17][18]Owen Gleiberman fromEntertainment Weekly said "A tawdry excuse for a movie, but it has a handful of shameless giggles", and rated the film "C+".[19]
David Rooney ofVariety gave a positive review, and stated that the film "scores more hits than misses."[20]USA Today's Mike Clark rated it 3/4, and said "As with every other genre, there's a right way and a wrong way to handle dude-lawman comedies.Chicks does it right a lot of the time."[21]
White Chicks was nominated for fiveRazzies, includingWorst Picture,Worst Actress for the Wayans brothers in drag,Worst Director,Worst Screenplay andWorst Screen Couple. It lost in all categories toCatwoman andFahrenheit 9/11.[22] At the2004 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film received nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Director (Keenan Ivory Wayans), Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy, Worst On-Screen Couple (Shawn and Marlon Wayans), and Least "Special" Special Effects. Its only win was for Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy.[23]
The song "A Thousand Miles" byVanessa Carlton became heavily associated withTerry Crews for his performance of it in the film.[24]
In August 2009, a sequel to the film was announced by Sony, though they later canceled the project.[25][26] A sequel was confirmed to be in the works in March 2018.[27] On June 30, 2019,Terry Crews confirmed a sequel on the programWatch What Happens Live. Marlon Wayans confirmed that this information was not meant to leak, and that the deal had not yet been confirmed.[28]
Slowly though, the film has become a cult classic thanks to its larger than life characters.
It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since the Wayans brothers brought us the comedy cult classic White Chicks, but it sounds like Shawn and Marlon Wayans (and their alter egos Kevin and Marcus Copeland, and their alter egos Brittany and Tiffany Wilson) will all be returning to the big screen.
In the 15 years since its release, 'White Chicks' gained a cult following and became a pop culture phenomenon.
